Guest blogger: Dave C

1952. Not exactly a banner year for the New York Rangers. Through the calendar year, the Blueshirts had more ties than wins. (You do remember ties, don’t you?) Sure, there were a couple of promising young players on the roster. Gump Worsley came up and would go on to win the Calder Trophy. A couple of kids from the Guelph Bitmores would make their debuts and eventually get their names and numbers hoisted to the Garden rafters. But despite the nascent promise, this wasn’t a team to write home about. The franchise was mired in a stretch where they would miss the playoffs five years in a row, and in 11 of 13 seasons, something not even John Muckler could accomplish. Bear in mind that, in the Original Six era, only two teams missed the playoffs every year, so the odds of a streak like that happening randomly are about .02 percent. This was a bad team. Nevertheless, the number 1952 holds a special place in Rangers history. Or, I should say, 19:52.

Eight seconds to go (or fewer). Be it by sheer coincidence, divine intervention or otherwise, three goals scored with this timestamp in the third period have shaped the last 20 years of franchise history. Over the course of 20 years, it wouldn’t be unusual for a team to have three, four, even five goals for and against with the same timestamp through all of those box scores from all of those games. But to see them all in later-round playoff games? For them all to be franchise-shifting goals in some way? That strikes me as rather unusual.

May 27, 1994. Those of us old enough will forever remember where we were for this game. Some of you were at the Garden. Many more of you were watching on TV. I was at the then-brand-new movie theater at the Menlo Park Mall seeing The Flintstones, that live action abonimation with John Goodman. Why would any sensible Ranger fan do that, especially on that night? Superstition, of course. My mother firmly believed that if the family watched the game, the Rangers would lose. So we went to the movies instead, and I was deprived the opportunity to watch live what many pundits believe was the greatest game ever played — and because the Rangers won, it’s still pretty difficult to fault her for the decision.

We all know the story here. Brian Leetch scored on one of the all-time great stickhandling moves to go up 1-0. There was some great end-to-end action but no one broke through. With Marty Brodeur on the bench late in the 3rd, the Devils get a couple of whacks at it in the crease, and somehow Valeri Zelepukin slipped the puck under Mike Richter’s left pad with 7.7 seconds to go. 19:52 of the 3rd. Stephane Matteau’s winner later that night is one of the two or three most important goals in the history of the franchise, but in a sense the Zelepukin goal was just as pivotal in shaping the team’s future. For one thing, the heightened drama in the game created by the late tally capped what was already one of the great playoff series ever, in turn cementing the Rangers-Devils rivalry as one of the game’s most fierce and for many fans displacing the Islanders as the team’s archenemy. More importantly, the final outcome of the game validated the virtue of the trades Neil Smith made at the deadline ten weeks prior, the moves that saw key youth like Tony Amonte moved away for “winners” like Matteau. This set the tone for an organizational philosophy that set the franchise back for ten years. As great a moment as the Matteau goal was, I can’t help but think that the team would have been better off in the long term if the Rangers had won this game 1-0 in regulation.

May 4, 2007. I was at the Garden for this one, even though the game itself wasn’t, thanks to a team-sponsored viewing party, and the building was buzzing like it was a home game. Even though the Rangers were the No. 6 seed, this team had the feel of something special heading into the playoffs. Remember that they finished the season on a 17-6-5 run, starting with the night (in New Jersey, ironically) that Sean Avery first appeared in a Rangers uniform, and helped in no small part by the acquisition of Paul Mara’s beard. They breezed through a clearly weaker Thrashers team and found themselves facing the Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Buffalo Sabres, in the Conference semifinals.

The Rangers looked overmatched through most of the series, but they were playing scrappily enough that they gave themselves a chance to win. Game 2 (a Buffalo win) and Game 3 (Michal Rozsival’s double overtime winner) were close enough for either team to win, but the Rangers looked defensively composed in Game 4, and hopes were high heading into Game 5 with the series tied. The game didn’t disappoint, either. Hank out-dueled fellow second-year phenom Ryan Miller for most of the night, and as the game went scoreless late into the third, it seemed like the Rangers were getting the better chances. Martin Straka finally broke through with a little over three minutes to go, and the Rangers went into shutdown mode. When they iced the puck with 16 seconds to go, the crowd back at MSG was on their feet. Except Michael Nylander, who ordinarily wouldn’t have been taking a late-game defensive zone draw, was stuck in that role because of the icing. Needless to say, he lost the faceoff and the Rangers couldn’t regain control of the puck. Chris Drury got to a loose rebound a few seconds later and beat Hank short side to tie the game with 7.7 seconds to go. 19:52 of the 3rd. Those numbers again. I felt that the series was over then and there (despite what Carp might say about momentum). Max Afinogenov won it in overtime, and the Sabres were dominant in closing the series out in Game 6.

More importantly, this game signaled that, despite the excitement over the late-season run, the Rangers were still more than a few pieces away, and ended up as a harbinger of the inevitable dismantling of the Jagr-era team. Moreover, it was very likely the main reason Glen Sather gave Drury a $35 million contract less than two months later. Despite Drury’s health issues and often inconsistency on the ice, his locker room leadership helped shape the character that would emerge as a key over the last two seasons, and clearly influenced his successor, Ryan Callahan. It may have taken until this past year to truly pay dividends, but I do believe that the Rangers were better off for the Drury signing.

May 7, 2012. I was at the Garden for this one too, except this time the action played out right in front of me instead of on the scoreboard. Tied at 1-1 after two tentative periods, my neighbor down the row from me dropped a pearl of wisdom. “This is one of those games where we need the hockey gods. If it’s going to be our year, we’ll need a couple of those games to go our way.” Not 15 minutes later, after John Carlson had already given the Capitals a 2-1 lead, with the building already pretty deflated, Nicklas Backstrom managed to find some open ice in the slot, and it looked like he was about to put the Rangers away. But then something funny happened, perhaps the hockey gods intervening, and he hit the post. I turned around to the aforementioned neighbor and said, “How do you like that for hockey gods? We got this one.” Not that I really believed my statement though. When Joe Tolleson announced over the PA that Joel Ward had in fact taken a double minor with 21 seconds left, my reaction was something along the lines of “Big byfuglien deal.”

But then Del Zotto’s shot got miraculously redirected to Callahan — just to Braden Holtby’s right — who took one whack at it, two whacks at it, three whacks at it. Brad Richards found a way to beat Holtby’s catching glove to the puck and shoot it right at Carlson, backing Holtby up in the crease in a last ditch effort. The puck found a way to squirm behind Carlson’s arm, off the far post and in, and the Garden exploded. With 6.6 seconds to go. Lost in the pandemonium was that the on-ice officials added another second back on the clock, so officially the equalizer was scored with 7.7 seconds left. 19:52 of the 3rd. Those numbers again. Except this time it was the Rangers tying it up. Marc Staal won it early in OT (and while we’re on it, I can’t understand why it isn’t standard for the point men to play the opposite sides on the power play, something that clearly contributed to the goal), and five days later the Rangers were in the Conference finals for the first time in 15 years.

So how did this goal impact the Rangers future? Surely, we don’t know yet, but by all accounts, that future is much brighter than it has been in recent memory. Here’s to hoping that in a few years we’ll look back on Richards’ equalizer as the goal that gave Sather the direction on the final pieces to build a Cup winner!

A good day indeed, Sioux! I relinquish the gold to you, my friend! Consider it a one day late birthday present!

Was feeling kind of bad tonight… found out a few months ago that my first love got married… decided to look up who she got married to. Turns out she married a guy that was a loser baseball player, a career minor leaguer, that could only manage to OPS .700 in about 700 games in the minors. She has the looks to bag a major leaguer, but she settled for a bum that never even played a single game in MLB, haha!! The buim quit baseball after 6 years. She dumped me because of my obsession with sports, she always wanted me to give sports up. Looks like she found some tool that gave up sports…

Sad story. My old girl friend dropped me for an undertaker when he she found out that at work, he had thousands of people under him. Just as well. She was pulchritudinous, but not too bright and never got my jokes.

ilb, ive got a new good luck superstition. The Yankees have been struggling, so Im going to not sleep until our next game Friday night, and if it works, Ill stay awake for as long as they continue winning! And if we get on a good roll and win the majority of our remainder games, I will plan on being awake all of October!

I thought about all you boneheads last night. I’m out for dinner with my family on my birthday. We have a new steakhouse in town called the Longhorn. We had to wait for 45 minutes to sit in the bonehead section :) – it was a sign, I smiled and said we would wait!

This section had the bone head mounts on the the wall just the skull and the horns. Nicely done. I’m thinking to me self – I bet Carp would really like one of those on his wall. So I ask my brother if he knew where I could buy a buffalo head. I would like to make a mount like that. Turns out my Brother is friends with the guy back home. Long story short for what it’s worth I could buy the whole buffalo for what the get for the hide and the head mount.

Santana, now that he’s shut down for 6 months, has ample time to call Clemens for the recipe to pitching effectively for the next 7 or 8 years. He can probably get the cell # from Pettitte. Hope Jeter doesn’t have it.

Could be a big day for hockey. Or could be nothing. At least they’ll talk.. We think. Won’t keep my hopes up and won’t get upset. I’ve learned not to get upset about things I have very little control over.

You never know, you might have control over it. I, and I alone, was responsible for the David Tyree and Mario Manningham catches. When you believe something strongly enough, you can affect it. “If you believe it, it will happen” a wise man once said.

Nicely writ Dave, and I see that you’re a man of my era, but not all the memories you have as I was just returned home from a year out in Chicago …1952, and being a native of CT, never got to see those games of that period except at the old New haven arena and spent most of my time looking for work.

Anyone see the Colin Campbell led rules talks? Apparently they are trying to clamp down on obstruction of forecheckers. Can only be good for our Rangers style of play huh? (That is if they ever get to play again Mr Bettman!)

Hey Blueshirt fans, seems there is a romour that my team and yours are talking trade, with PK Subban going to the Rangers and the Habs getting Chris Kreider and Ryan MacDonagh, anyone else hearing these rumour??

Habs and Blueshirts discussing a trade, per TSN, with PK Subban going your way and my Habs getting Chris Kreider and Ryan MacDonagh, a steal for the Rangers if it’s official. PS I really miss Brighton Beach, went to college at NYU for 2 years.

Haha. Great reference of Peter Gammons there. I can see him getting all up in arms about people criticizing them. Like when he got super mad that people laughed when Nick Swisher struck out Gabe Kapler.

Haha, good reference of Gabe Kapler, since the PED discussion was just yesterday, Krapler is the clearest roid monster!

Manny, do u remember the 2004 brawl that sparked the Red Sox to eventually win the WS? Tanyon Sturtze was dominating thru a few innings before the brawl occurred, and then during the brawl, David Ortiz, Gabe Kapler and Trot Nixon found Sturtze by the dugout and literally beat the crap out of him, Sturtze was bleeding from his ear. That image haunts me, those 3 steroid freaks roid raging on Sturtze, a poor guy that never harmed anyone.

Of Course I remember that fight. Sutrtze was bleeding but he continued to pitch. I was watching that game with my friend while swimming in some rich girls indoor pool. My buddy and I always fight when the red sox/yankees fight (as a joke) because he’s from Boston. Anyways. We had to fight a few times that day.

Sturtze is from Worcester, MA actually. I learned that from a Kenny Maine interview.

Haha Manny! Yeah, he wasnt a part of 2009, thank God. That thief! Since he sat out for all 4 years with us, itll be difficult to remember, but do u remember when he sat out for a while with a sore buttocks?

Torts, when he played, listed himself at 5’7″. If any of you have ever stood next to pro or college athletes of any sport, you will know that virtually all of them exaggerate their height by at least an inch, sometimes more. I think this starts in high school, when they’re looking for athletic scholarships, and it continues thereafter. Basketball is the biggest “offender.” Teams, both college and pro, do internal height and weight tests, but tacitly allow the athlete to put whatever he wants on any public program.

I do recall one thing….that home run hit round the world by Bobby Thompson, off of Ralph Branca,
was seen by me from my land lady’s apartment along with her other roomie who was from Buffalo, and it was awesome. She always said that she’d never rent rooms out to girls, because they were so terribly messy, but boys always seemed to keep everything so neat and clean.

ilb2001 – Yeah I agree. Kind of a lateral move for the Rangers. They’d get a puck mover with a nice righty shot and a heck of a forward. But they’d lose two guys who are already incredible and just touching the scope of their abilities.

Had a great Rangers night- got Cally’s signature @ a Roc Red Wings game, then met a fellow Bonehead in the concourse while trying to find my seat. All I heard was ‘Carp’ and ‘blog’ and I turned around and went, “Rangers Report? Carp’s blog?” and that was it. Was a pleasure to meet Sid Farkous/assorted other Seinfeld names earlier! We had a nice chat, then went our separate ways.

YOu know when I keep reading about these various prospective trades, I get a bit nervous. Many of the proposed names that are offered as potential acquisitions for Rangers do not register with me, as worthy of the Rangers that these other folks want. This team came a long way toward total success last year and they did it with the folks they have now, or at least most of them. How sure are all of you folks that these apparently offered trades are good for the team? I’m way too far away, and too far out of the loop to be able to comment intelligently on any of this. Do we really want to see all these or even some of these trades made? And are they still still drooling over Doan?

what a shame about what happened to Armstrong. Ive really gotten into cycling the past couple of years…cycling across Thailand/Laos, Sweden to London, Berlin to Prague this summer…It’s a shame what this country is coming to…. stripping a guy of 7, yes 7 Tour de France titles on absolutely zero evidence other than jealous ex-teammates saying they saw him cheat….and all those teammates later have been caught doping. Armstrong? Never! And the man did it all with one testicle.

Armstrong has been tested more than any athlete on the face of the earth, and for good reason, for over 15 years. He has passed every single test with flying colors. If youre not going to trust the system that you put in place what good is the system? The only evidence they have is testimony made by proven cheats that LOST to Armstrong and were paid off. Didnt know that? Read about it.

Also. I don’t really care what happens to him because my wife told me that his wife (Sheryl Crow) stayed with him through his cancer but then when she got breast cancer he left her immediately for some other woman.

I dont see how accusing Derek Jeter of using PEDs is any different from this whole Lance Armstrong thing. ZERO evidence. Passed every single test. So if Andy Pettite, Jason Giambi and Chuck Knoblauch come out and say that over the past 15 years theyve seen Jeter use roids that means he is guilty?

It’s kind of odd that the system puts the burden on Lance to PROVE that he didn’t use any PED’s instead of putting the burden on the people accusing him of proving their allegations. That would make a lot more sense.

I mean he passed all the international cycling tests, all french tests, all olympic tests… there’s only so much one can do to prove his innocence…..and i agree why should he prove his innocence rather than disprove his guilt?? Innocent until proven guilty, no? If i was in his shoes i probably would have pulled myself out of this whole mess as well. Must be emotionally draining.

LW, no of course i dont know what they have BUT i go along by what we do know… and that is that the USADA today in its statement said that they were ready to present 10 witnesses at trial. 10 witnesses and their testimonies. That is it. And those witnesses have been proven cheats after they denied it… so what good is their word really?

I just like to believe in innocent until proven guilty. Seems like a forgotten idea nowadays.

Maybe his ex-teammates do have a vendetta (all of them?), but a bit dangerous to just dismiss any testimony from them as worthless because they doped.

If a group of bank robbers on trial had all but one of the group pleading guilty, you think a court would just ignore their testimony against the one pleading innocence because they are already guilty?

Great point, NYR. Bike racing is literally the worst thing to watch (second is “running”).

I guess I should be done talking about this. It’s just that Lance is such an icon of a spot that not many people actually care about aside from his red carpet lifestyle and one really funny Sportscenter commercial.

Bwahahaha. OK. That’s hilarious. I actually think that song is about him. She wrote a whole album about him. She was also the touring guitarist and backup singer for Michael Jackson on the Thriller tour. She’s really, really cool.

Drugs or not, this guy has beaten cancer and battled to the top of his sport – yes, drugs give people an edge. But reports would have us believe that the majority of cyclists of that era were doped up on EPO and testosterone – if he did cheat, its clear that a lot of them did in that era so who gets the yellow jersey?
Nowadays the testing is so rigorous, cyclists have these blood passport things that help the drug agencies monitor them throughout the year and find any anomalies, masking agents or stimulants of any kind.
The reason cycling gets a bad name is because they have cleaned up their sport, with one or two recent exceptions.

_if he did cheat, its clear that a lot of them did in that era so who gets the yellow jersey?_

Other riders with doping convictions or sanctions against their name, mostly.

I don’t think anyone is pretending Armstrong would’ve been alone (or close to it) in doping or that it diminishes his recovery from cancer or subsequent charitable work. Whether it makes him less guilty (or more innocent) depends on where you stand on the Tiki* argument that cheating isn’t cheating if everyone (or 40% of everyone) is doing it.

I’d like to espouse a conspiracy -fact- theory I’ve had for a number of years, given this Lance Armstrong news, but it would surely upset Carp. So Im using every ounce of self control to shut up. So can we move past the Big Dance and onto which boneheads are on PEDs….

I never said cheating isn’t cheating if “everyone” is doing it.

What I said was, if using PEDs was banned by a sport (thus making it illegal), I would not have a problem with my team cheating….. because for me, winning is not the most important thing, it’s the only thing.

And the following is not directed at anybody….

I believe in honesty, in real life, on a blog, anywhere, and Im not going to sit on my high horse and pretend to be anything I’m not… so that I can be liked or fit in.

And if ilb or Carp or Mama, etc. choose to not like me because of my beliefs, then Id be disappointed, but they deserve to have full disclosure when making that decision.

Like this… I dont believe in violence or revenge. i dont practice the former and try not to practice the latter. But if anyone (like Jerry Sandusky) ever hurt a family member or friend of mine, especially my 2 nephews… I dont believe Id be as lawful as the parents and family of Sandusky’s victims. I would scour the earth until I found them and inflicted my own justice upon them.

Lev, hockey players play through the most painful of injuries. Avery with a ruptured spleen. David Clarkson the entire playoffs with a broken foot. How do all these guys play through the injuries with little to no drop-off from their games??

Im not doubting NHL players on their toughness. I am doubting them on the idea that all NHL players are clean and all this finger pointing at MLB players that get caught. Highly doubt NHL enforcers havent been using a little something something to deal with punches to the face and are ready to go the next day. Georges Laraque talked about this actually.

I’m guessing there is _slightly_ more pointing towards Armstrong being a doper than Messier…

But to answer your question, Lev, I reckon a lot of people would not accept the idea of Messier using PEDs because he is an immensely popular and admired athlete, much like some people would never accept Armstrong could be guilty for the same reason.

The Dodgers are taking $262 million in salaries, only one valuable asset, and giving away the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th prospects in their system.

For Hanley Ramirez, and his much lesser contract, the Dodgers gave up a fringe minor league nobody. The Dodgers in the Hanley Ramirez deal had other options and Hanley plays a much more valuable position (SS). In this situation, the Red Sox have no other options, they must deal with only the Dodgers.

I actually understand them wanting to deal Beckett…he was afterall one of the main guys responsible for the whole beer/chicken thing…huge attitude problem too…Crawford has a monster contract that he hasnt and will never earn….but Gonzalez i dont get….they traded their future to get him and now theyre giving up on him to start from scratch?

Lev, they traded 2 losers to get Gonzalez. Rizzo and a guy who no longer is even a prospect, Casey Kelly. He hasnt performed as expected. He was supposed to hit 50 HRs a year in Fenway Field a year, or so said his ESPN spray chart when they dealt for him. He’s a whiner, not a winner. He doesnt accept responsibility for his failings, he blames God. Seriously. According to PeteAbe, he didnt really enjoy playing for boston, didnt enjoy the pressure or the media either. He’s also a cancer, sending that text to management about Bobby V.

Also, he’s got 6 more years left on his deal, and with his power declining, he most likely will struggle in the latter years like for example, ARod is now. Also, he’s a 1B, and 1B are not as valuable as other positions.

They get 3 top prospects, shed $262 million in salary. They should receive 0 or 1 top prospect.

Theyre starting from scratch with only $45 million pre-arbitration on the books for next year.

Nobody would ever help us out like this. Id dump Arod and his mammoth contract for 3 top prospects in a NY minute.

Honestly, theres no precedent for this. Nobody is “stupid” enough to take on $260 million of bad contracts and give multiple top prospects away too. This is just a good ole fashioned Christmas Gift from the dodgers.

Worst part is, the Red Sox have no leverage. Theyre desperate to unload that salary, and they have nobody else to negotiate with. The Dodgers are in a position of power, and yet the Red Sox as usual come away smelling like roses. Makes me sick.